A Long Way Gone
by DamselOnDrums
Summary: A series of child abductions brings the team to the west coast, where they find that something much more sinister is brewing than any of them had ever imagined. Team story! Different universe to IP.


_Hello, my favorite readers! I wanted to start this story by sending a big happy birthday to Emily Prentiss (yes, my life is that sad that I actually know/care when her birthday is.). As a present, I made sure to finish this. It is a little dark in the first chapter here, but I guess that comes with the territory. It has very few similarities to the book A Long Way Gone from what my understanding of the book is. I in NO way mean to demean Ishmael Beah, because what he went through was awful. But, what brought this story up for me was listening to a seminar about thte Invisible Children at my school. If you want to know what they're all about, Google it. For now, this is the story. I was hesitant with some of this, but I really wanted to see people's reactions. So, I think I'm done rambling here. Read, review, favorite, alert... Anything is good for me. Nothing is forced upon you. :) Love and hugs. - Taylorrr. xx_

_Disclaimer: **I, in no way, own Criminal Minds, A Long Way Gone, or 5Gum. I do enjoy watching Criminal Minds, reading A Long Way Gone, and chewing 5Gum. **_

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_**A Long Way Gone**_

She struggled against her captor, aggravated that her face was covered with a prickly canvas bag. She kicked out, but only struck hair. She heard her sisters' whimpers beside her, and wished her hands weren't bound so she could comfort them. Instead, she wiggled more, even if she knew it was in vane. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as a warm, smelly, unwarranted breath passed over it. In the same moment, a raspy voice spoke. "If you try to get out one more time, you'll take off the bag and find both of your sisters with bullets through their hearts."

She stopped immediately, only to be shoved forward again. She heard Maya and Kylei's shuffling footsteps on either side of her; a small glimmer of hope in a dark, dire situation. She had to stay strong for all of them. Another gruff push later, the only thing keeping her going was the noises her sisters made from behind.

She thought back to when they were taken; it couldn't have been more than a few hours before. She, Maya, and Kylei had been walking home after she had picked them both up from the middle school. It was a two mile walk and never took them more than a half hour, but before they were even halfway there, a silver van with no windows besides the front ones pulled up beside them. From the cab jumped three men. All came as a blur; she had a bag thrown over her head, her arms tied, and she was forcefully thrown into the ban, her sisters landed on top of her. Their mom would be worried. Terrified, even. There was probably even an Amber Alert out on them.

When they stopped, her feet were on filthy tiled floor. She was shoved further across the room before the bag was ripped off her head and the ties were cut. She whipped around, trying to stick a fist in the guy's face, but he expertly caught it. "Tut-tut," he hissed. "If you want your dinner, you'll make nice with your new roommate and not bite the hand that feeds you, quite literally."

"Where're my sisters?" she snapped.

"They are fine, I assure you. In fact, if you behave yourself, I may even let you see them tonight, _If_." He turned on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him.

She let out a cry of frustration, then kicked the ugly yellow wall to her left, running her hands through her bright orange hair. She jumped as someone behind her cleared their throat. Her muscles relaxed a little when she saw a girl around her age standing there. "Be careful- Pussy Pants over there is a serious when he says he'll let you starve. I went almost an entire week on an empty stomach when I first got here."

"Oh yeah, how long you been here?"

"I lost track, but I'd say about seven months, but I _don't_ intend on being here much longer."

She raised her eyebrows. "_Seven months_?"

The girl shook her head. "That's nothing. Isaac and James have been here for almost a year and a half now." She extended a hand. "I'm Kaja, but everyone calls me Ezme." At the curious look she got, Ezme explained, "my mom is Estonian, my dad is Puerto Rican-Hispanic. My full name is Kaja Ezmerelda River."

She took Ezme's extended hand and gently shook it. "I'm Jordan. My friend is Estonian."

"Well, Jordan, welcome to the Resistance."

* * *

JJ swooped in through the bullpen where Prentiss and Morgan were idly throwing paper balls at Reid's head, while Hotch and Rossi spoke in monotoned voices on the stairs. "I need everyone in the conference room right now," she said, seriously. "Arizona needs us, so does most of the west coast, it seems."

Emily jumped up with sudden boundless energy. "Why? What's happening?"

"You'll want to see for yourself."

When the war room was filled with the BAU agents, JJ flipped on the screen, where the smiling faces of three young girls appeared. The oldest had Hayley Williams styled hair and looked to be no older than sixteen; the middle had pin straight dark blonde hair and couldn't have been anything besides thirteen; the youngest had wavy brunette hair and was probably at least eleven. Five pairs of eyebrows furrowed. "These are Jordan, Maya, and Kylei Joiner. They were abducted yesterday while they were walking home from school in Tonalea."

"I don't mean to sound like I don't care or anything, but why are we taking this one on?" Morgan inquired, scratching his temple.

"Their mother, Jamie flew all the way out here. She's outside right now. She believes it has something to do with some other abductions in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and southern California."

"What makes her think that?"

"They were all taken on their way home. All were walking and all were between the ages of eleven and seventeen, All were physically fit and wither worked out or played a sport."

"Those are all fairly common," Spencer pointed out.

"She thinks it could be a possible link, and right now that's what the police out there are hoping for."

"She obviously did her homework," Prentiss muttered just as a blonde-haired woman rushed in.

"Sorry, that was my husband," she said her voice clouded with a crisp English accent.

"Ma'am, you know these could easily not even be connected, right?"

"Of course, but I've also done my research. My brother-in-law is a prosecutor. 75% of children who are abducted are killed within the first 3-6 hours, 88% in the first 24. I don't want my daughters to become just another statistic for the world to shake their heads at. I want to have them back with me, untouched."

Hotch stood. "JJ, I want you to find all the key witnesses, but first have Garcia narrow down the list of potential victims in all surrounding states. Wheels up in ten."

For the most part, the flight was a quiet affair, as all the agents began studying the various case files Garcia had sent along with them. The time span from the first to the last believed serial abduction was almost two years, and there were precious few witnesses in any case. What no one wanted to admit with Jamie on board was that the chances of finding any of them were almost nonexistent.

Just judging by comparison to the Joiner abductions, there were all ready fifteen other cases with the same emerging pattern- within the children being halfway home, and no ransom demanded. No bodies had been discovered, but that meant next to nothing. The states they had been taken from were, the majority at least, hardly in the correct part to be demanding million dollar ransoms, plus, it wasn't uncommon for people, especially children, to wander off and get lost in the wilderness.

Halfway there, Hotch started to spout off orders, only after looking over the witnesses spread across nearly five hundred miles. "Reid, I want you to head to Arizona with JJ to set up; Rossi, you and Morgan will go interview Sheryl Barkley and Sam Jenson in New Mexico, Garcia has arranged from them to meet you in the police station in Santa few; Prentiss, you and I will head to Carson City to interview Carter Stacey."

All nodded, but Prentiss furrowed her brows. At her inquisitive look, Hotch clarified, "she's only seven, and she lives with her dad. Her sister was taken, and she needs to see you as a mother figure for the time being."

She gave a curt nod before handing Spencer his piece of _5 Gum_. It had been their ritual ever since she found out about his hatred of take offs and landings. She had always brought along gum for herself and JJ, but her friend had long since gotten into the habit of bringing her own, so now she only shared her React Mint with her surrogate younger brother. It was their flight routine, so no one ever took notice. They began chewing as Morgan leaned back in his chair with his headphones covering his ears, Hotch shutting his eyes with his head back, Rossi starred out the window, JJ pulled out her Blackberry, and Jamie nervously began chewing her fingernails. Emily sighed, quietly. It was going to be a rough day if they didn't find them in time.

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_What do you think? Keep going, or throw it into the reject pile? Love you all!_


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